Sliding closure



Much 29, 1955 A. GROSSMAN SLIDING CLOSURE Filod larch 30, 1954 3Shuts-Sheet 1 as 45 50 as 42 4e 20 FIG'.4.

lNVE/VTOR.

ABRAHAM Geossmmv av 7p A 'rro RNEY.

Much 29, 1955 A. GROSSMAN SLIDING cmsuas 3 Shuts-Shut 2 Filed March 30,1954 H a I luvs/won. Aaanunm Gnossmhu Arranuzw March 29, 1955 A.GROSSMAN 2,704,866

SLIDING CLOSURE Filed March 30, 1954 3 sheets sheet 3 /N VZNTOR.

ABRAHAM GROJSMAN ma ma ATTORNEY.

United States Patent SLIDING CLOSURE Abraham Grossmnn, Van Nuys, Calif.Application March 30, 1954, Serial No. 419,714 6 Claims. (Cl. 20-52)This invention relates to sliding closures and, more particularly, tosliding closures such as doors and windows.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a sliding doorwhich includes a knock-down sash and frgme which can be easily andquickly assembled on the o J One of the major problems encountered inassembling the conventional sliding doors of the character underconsideration on the job has been the difiiculty of aligning the sashwith an out-of-true frame. In order to overcome this obstacle,conventional doors usually include adjustable rollers in the lower railthereof, the rollers being adjustable vertically to permit the entiresash to be cocked to overcome the lack of registration between the sashand the out-of-true frame. However, such conventional means ofadjustment entails the imposition of undue loads on the rollersassociated with the adjusted roller and is not of a permanent naturesince the adjustable rollers can become misadjusted during the life ofthe door and binding and ultimate damage to the door and its associatedrollers can occur.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a sliding door whichincludes adjustable shim means in the stiles thereof. Therefore, whenthe glazing has been assembled in the sash and the stiles have beenconnected to the top and bottom rails of said sash, the shims in thestiles can be adjusted against the lateral edges of the pane of glasssupported thereby to cause the sash to conform to the out-of-true frame.This is a considerable advance over prior art constructions utilizingthe previously referred to expedients since the relationship between thesupporting rollers and the bottom rail in which they are mounted neednot be changed and since the adjustment is much more permanent and doesnot entail the cocking of the entire sash in the frame with which it isassociated. Furthermore, if the sash or the frame become misadjustedwith respect to each other during continued use, it is a simple matterto adjust the shim screws to bring the sash and frame back into properrelationship.

The ease of operation of a sliding door of the character underconsideration herein hinges upon the effectiveness of the suspensorysystem on which it is supported and, more particularly, upon the rollermeans provided in the top and bottom rails for engagement with tracksprovided in the top and bottom of the associated frame. One of the majoritems of expense and difficulty encountered in the manufacture of thetype of doors under consideration here is the eflective mounting ofguide rollers in the top and bottom rails of the sash.

A further object of my invention is the provision of top and bottomrails for the sash of the sliding door which incorporate elongatedchannel means, said channel means being adapted to receive mountingblocks shaped to conform to the interior configurations of said channelmeans and said mounting blocks providing supports for the axles for theguide rollers of the sash. Since the mounting blocks are freelyinsertable in the channel means of the top and bottom rails, themounting blocks and the guide rollers can be assembled prior to theirinstallation in the rails and can be installed at any point along thelengths of the rails. Therefore, the necessity for predrilling orotherwise modifying the structure of the rails is eliminated since themounting blocks can be installed in any desired numbers along thelengths of the rails.

It has been customary in prior art doors of the character underconsideration to weld the adjacent ends of the rails and stiles togetherin a miter joint or to fasten the stiles to the ends of the rails inabutting relationship.

In order to simplify the assembly of the door of my invention, I provideconnecting means constituted by securement blocks located in the ends ofthe aforementioned channel means in the top and bottom rails, saidsecurement blocks being engageable by fasteners located in the stiles.

An additional object of my invention is the provision, in a sash of thecharacter under consideration here, of stiles which are provided withmilled recesses in their opposite ends, said recesses conformingsubstantially to the cross-sectional shape of the ends of associatedrails and permitting the ends of the rails to extend into the recessesfor substantially the entire width of the stiles. The securement blocksin the ends of the channel means in the rails are thus locatedcompletely within the stiles and are engaged by the fasteners passingthrough the outer walls of-the stiles.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a sash constructionof the aforementioned character wherein the mounting blocks utilized tomount the guide rollers in the top rail serve also'as securement blocksfor securing said top rails to the ends of associated stiles.

A further object of my invention is the provision of interengaging keymeans on the mounting blocks located in the channel means of the toprails and similar key means provided by the interior walls of saidchannel means interengaging with the key means on said mounting blocks.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and the accompanying drawings which are for thepurpose of illustration only and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a pair of sliding doorsmanufactured in accordance with the teachings of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken on the broken line 22 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the broken line 3-3 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the broken line 44 of Fig.3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail showing the manner in which the ends of thestiles are provided with recesses f0;1 the reception of the configuredends of associated ra s.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1-3 thereof, I showa sliding door assembly 10 disposed in an opening 12 in a building 14 orother structure, and including a frame 16. The frame 16 includes a headtrack 18, a sill track 20, and laterally spaced jamb means 22 and 24disposed between the opposite ends of said head and sill tracks.

Located in the frame 16 is a pair of sliding doors 26 and 28 constructedin accordance with the teachings of my invention. Although I disclose apair of sliding doors 26 and 28 operable in the frame 16, it is, ofcourse, conceivable that one of the sliding doors of my invention beutilized in conjunction with a fixed door in the frame. It is also notintended to limit the applications of the principles of my invention tosliding doors since they can be embodied with equal cogency in themanufacture and construction of sliding windows.

Since the sliding doors 26 and 28 are identical in construction, onlythe sliding door 28 will be described in detail. The sliding door 28 isslidable on a track member 30 provided on the sill track 20 and at itsupper end is supported in a track recess 32 provided in the head track18. If only one sliding door is utilized, a single head track 18 and asingle sill track 20 will be provided, rather than the double head track18 and the double sill track 20 shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Thejamb means 22 and 24 are secured to opposite sides of the opening 12 inthe building structure 14 and are of identical construction.

In the present embodiment of the invention, the jamb means are formedfrom aluminum extrusions and are fastened in operative relationship withthe opposite edges of the opening 12 by means of screws 34, or similarfasteners. An elongated recess 36 is provided in each of the jamb meanswhich has an elongated, resilient sealing member formed from Vinylite,"or similar plastic material, located in a depression 40 in a wallthereof.

The sliding door 28 is constituted by a sash 42 WhlCh mounts a pane 44of glass. The sash 42, as best shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4 of thedrawings, includes elongated top and bottom rails 46 and 48respectively. The top and bottom rails 46 and 48 are joined in operativerelationship with each other by means of vertically oriented stiles 50and 52 in a manner to be described .in greater detail below.

The top and bottom rails 46 and 48 are provided with elongated glasspockets 54 for receiving the top and bottom edges of the pane 44 ofglass and the innermost edges 56 of said top and bottom rails in whichsaid glass pockets are located are of substantially semi-elliptical,cross-sectional configuration, as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

Provided in the top rail 46 is an elongated channel 58, said channelhaving walls defining key means 60 and being designed to receive, inslidable relationship, roller mounting blocks 62 provided with key means64 engageable with the mating key means defined by the walls of thechannel 58. The roller mounting blocks 62 are. in the present embodimentof the invention, located at the ends of the channels 58, but, ofcourse, may be slid along the length of the channel into any positiondesired if more than two roller mounting blocks are utilized inconjunction with a top rail 46. The roller mounting blocks 62 aresecured in position at the opposite ends of the channel '58 by pin means66 or punches 68, as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Verticallyoriented in the mounting blocks 62 are roller axles 70 upon which arerotatably fastened rollers 72.

The rollers 72 have their peripheries disposed in engagement with therespective track recess 32 provided in the head track 18. The obviousadvantages to be derived from the utilization of the roller mountingblocks 62 in contradistinction to the usual conventional mode ofmounting guide rollers in door or window constructions of the characterunder consideration, is that the rollers 72 and their associated axlesmay be assembled in the mounting blocks 62 prior to their associationwith the top rail 46 and the necessity for modifying the top rail in anyway whatsoever to accommodate the roller 72 is eliminated. Furthermore,when the length of the top rail 46 is unduly long, it is possible toslide a larger number of mounting blocks 62 along the length of the toprail 46 and thus provide an adequate number of rollers 72 for theparticular application.

Furthermore, if the rollers 72 or the axles 70 upon which they aremounted should fail, the installation of a substitute mounting block 62can be accomplished with a minimum amount of time in contradistinctionto conventional roller mounting constructions.

The mating key means 60 on the channel 58 and 64 on the roller mountingblock 62 insures that the roller mounting block 62 will be properlylocated with respect to the channel 58 and also insures that themounting block 62 will not be inadvertently displaced therefrom. The toprails 46 are also provided with elongated recesses 74 for the receptionof Weatherstripping 76 which engages a wall of the track recess 32 inthe head track 18.

The bottom rail 48 of the sliding door 28 includes an elongated recess80 in the opposite ends of which are mounted roller mounting blocks 82.The roller mounting blocks 82 are slidably insertable in the ends of therecess 80 in the bottom rail 48 and are restrained from inward movementin the recess 80 by detents 84 impinging on the inner ends thereof.Mounted in the mounting blocks 82 are vertically oriented rollers 86which engage the track member 30 provided on the sill track 20. Sincethe roller mounting blocks 82 in the bottom rail 48 can be as readilymounted in their respective recess 80 as the mounting blocks 62 in thetop rail 46. it is obvious that the assembly of the top rollers 72 andthe bottom rollers 86 is expedited and that no extensive modification ofthe top and bottom rails 46 and 48 is necessitated in order to mount thetop and bottom rollers 72 and 86.

Also provided in the bottom rails 48 are elongated recesses 88 whichmount elongated weatherstrips 90 engageable with the adjacent surface ofthe track member 30 of the sill track 20. The stile 52, as best shown in4 Fig. 2 of the drawings, is constituted by an elongated, hollowextrusion 92 which provides an elongated recess 94 and a glass pocket 96extending the length thereof. The stile 50 is constituted by anelongated extrusion 102 having an elongated recess 104 provided thereinand a glass pocket 106 extending the length thereof.

Formed integrally with the extrusion 102 constituting the stile 50 is aright-angularly bent weather sealing lip 108 which engages with a Vinylsealing strip 110 associated with an identical lip provided on the stile50 of the sliding door 26, as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Theupper end of the lip 108 is provided with a clearance slot 112 forclearing the lowermost end of the wall 114 defining the track recesses32 in the head track 18.

In order to provide a clean weather-tight and stable joint between thejuxtaposed ends of the stiles 50 and 52 and the rails 46 and 48, thereis formed in the opposite ends of each of the stiles 50 and 52, as bymilling, a substantially semi-elliptical opening or pocket 116, bestshown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, said pocket being designed to receivethe adjacent end of a rail, such as the top rail 46, and to mateaccurately with the similar cross-sectional configuration of said toprail. It will also be noted that the adjacent portions of the stile 50,at the extreme end thereof, rest upon shoulders 118 formed on the toprail 46 to more securely engage the stiles and rails in operativerelationship.

The pockets 116 in the ends of the stiles 50 and 52 permit the ends ofthe rails associated therewith to traverse substantially the entirewidths of the stiles, as best shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and to bebutted against the inner surface of the outer wall 120 of the stiles.

When the ends of the top rail 46 are located in the pockets 116 in theupper end of the stiles 50 and 52, as best shown in Fig. 4 of thedrawings, connecting means indicated generally at 122 is utilized inmaintaining the ends of the stile and rail in operative relationshipwith each other. The connecting means 122 includes a securement block124 which, in the present instance, is constituted by the top rollermounting block 62 and which is provided with a threaded bore 126 for thereception of a screw 128 extending through an opening 130 in the wall120 of the stile. in this manner, the upper ends of the stiles arequickly and simply joined to the juxtaposed ends of the top rail 46 andthe necessity for welding or otherwise conventionally assembling the toprails of the stiles is eliminated.

Second connecting means 132 is provided, as best shown in Fig. 4 of thedrawings, for securing the lower ends of the stiles in operativerelationship with the juxtaposed ends of the bottom rails 48. The secondconnecting means 132 includes a substantially H-shaped securement block134 which is pinned, as at 136, in the opposite ends of the elongatedrecess 80 in the bottom rail 48 and which is provided with a threadedbore 138 for the reception of a threaded fastener 140 inserted throughthe wall 120 of the associated stile.

A securement block 134 also serves, as best shown in Fig. 4 of thedrawings, to prevent longitudinal movement of the mounting block 82 awayfrom operative relationship with its associated detent 84 in the wall ofthe elongated recess 80. It can, therefore. readily be perceived thatthe assembly of the constituent elements of the sash 42 of the slidingdoor 28 will involve a minimum expenditure of time and that the jointsbetween the ends of the rails and their associated stiles will beextremely substantial and weatherproof because of the fact that the endsof the rails extend across substantially the greater width of the stilesand are fastened securely in operative relationship therewith by meansof slidably inserted securement blocks 124 and 134.

One of the major problems encountered in the installation ofknocked-down sliding door and window assemblies 10 of the characterunder consideration. is the fact that the opening 12 provided in thebuilding structure 14 is frequently out of plumb and that. when the headtracks 18 and the sill tracks 20 are installed in conjunction with thejamb means 22 and 24, the frame 16 constituted thereby is also out ofplumb and difficulty is encountered in properly installing the plumbsash 42 of the sliding doors 26 and 28 in the aforesaid frame. It hasbeen customary practice in prior art to utilize vertically adjustablebottom rollers which could be ad,- justed to tilt the sash bodily in theframe in order that caused by the out of plumb condition of theinequality be compensated by such bodily tilting the frame might of thesash.

Such conventional means constitutes a make-shift expedient in that itresults in an improper relationship of the bottom rail of the sash withthe track which is frequently so great as to be perceptible to the nakedeye. Furthermore, the increase in the space between the bottom rail andthe surface traversed thereby frequently reduces the effectiveness ofthe Weatherstripping installed therein and permits the creation ofdrafts and the entry of moisture laden air.

In order to eliminate the necessity for bodily tilting the sash 42 ofthe door 28 in the frame 16 if the frame is out of plumb, 1 provide sashadjustment means 142 constituted by shim screws 144 mounted in thestiles 50 and 52 adjacent the opposite ends of the stiles. The shimscrews 144 are threadedly engaged, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, withthe bottom wall 146 of the glass pocket 96 in the stile 52 and thebottom wall 146 of the glass pocket 106 of the stile 50.

Adjacent openings 148 in the walls 120 of the stiles permit the rotationof the shim screws 144 to move the innermost ends of said shim screwstoward or away from adjlac egt shims 150 to accomplish the adjustment ofthe sas If it is discovered after the assembly of the sash 42 that theframe 16 is out of plumb, the shim screws 144 of the sash adjustmentmeans 142 can be adjusted against the edge of the pane 44 of glass toalign the sash with the out of plumb frame 16 and, more particularly,either of the jambs 22 or 24 thereof. For instance, if it is desired tomove the upper corner of the sash adjacent the jamb toward the jamb, theshim screw 144 adjacent said corner is tightened and after thecorresponding shim screw 144 at the opposite corner of the sash has beenloosened. Therefore, when it is desired to move the sash in either theright or left-hand direction, it is only necessary to loosen the shimscrew 144 opposite the corner that is to be moved and to tighten theshim screw adjacent the corner that is to be moved.

After the proper adjustment of the shim screws 144 has been made in thisfashion, all of the shim screws should be secured against the edge ofthe glass after the adjustment to keep the glass from shifting. This isa considerable advance over the prior art because it permits thealignment of the sash 42 with an out of plumb jamb and eliminates thenecessity for the utilization of vertically adjustable bottom rollerwheels which bodily tilt the sash to bring the corners thereof intoalignment with the out of plumb jamb.

The major features of my invention, as is evident from the considerationof the above description thereof, lie in the ease with which the variouscomponents of the sash can be assembled in operative relationship withone another and in the provision of the roller mounting blocks in thetop and bottom rails which facilitate the installation of the too andbottom rollers, respectively, in o erati e relationship with said rails.

Also of considerable import is the provision of a unique type ofinterlocking joint between the ends of the rails and the iuxtaposed endsof the stiles whereby an extreme v stable. easily connected. andWeatherproof joint is achieved. The provision of shim screws in the siles which eliminate the necessity for the conventional expedie tscustomarily utilized in adjusting the sash to an ut of plumb frame isalso an advance over the prior art since it permits adiustments to beeasily and readily m de Without utilizing the expensive and cumbersomeprior art expedients.

Another advanta e of the door assemblv of my invention is the fact thatit can be manufactured in any desired size for custom installations.since the rails thereof need merelv be cut to the len ths desired andthe roller mounting blocks can be installed by sliding them along thetop and bottom rails into the desired location without the necessity forextensive modification of said rails.

Other advantages of the invention not alluded to specifically herein areapparent from a consideration of the drawings and the disclosurepertaining thereto presented hereinbefore.

1 claim as my invention:

1. In a sliding closure movable across an opening defined by a framehaving a lintel, sill and jambs connected between said lintel and saidsill, said lintel and said sill respectively having a top track and abottom track, the combination of: a sash, said sash including a top railhaving an elongated channel therein provided with key means and a bottomrail having an elongated channel therein, said rails being operativelyconnected by laterally spaced stiles, all of said rails and said stilesbeing provided with means for mounting a pane of glass therein; a pairof mounting blocks located in said top rail channel and having portionsthereof engageable with said key means; and roller means mounted in saidblocks engageable with said top track.

2. In a sliding closure movable across an opening defined by a framehaving a lintel, sill and jambs connected between said lintel and saidsill, said lintel and said sill respectively having a top track and abottom track, the combination of: a sash, said sash including a top railhaving an elongated channel therein and a bottom rail having anelongated channel therein, said rails being operatively connected bylaterally spaced stiles, all of said rails and said stiles beingprovided with means for mounting a pane of glass therein; a pair ofmounting blocks slidahly'insertable into the ends of said top railchannel; and roller means mounted in said blocks engageable with saidtop track.

3. In a sash for a sliding closure, the combination of: top and bottomrail members having elongated channels therein, said rail members beingof uniform cross-sectional configuration throughout the lengths thereofand having weather strip receptacles extending the entire lengththereof; stile members having elongated channels therein and provided atthe opposite ends thereof with openings conforming substantially to thecross-sectional configuration of the ends of said rails to permit saidrail ends to be located in the ends of said stile channels and abut onthe inner walls of said stile channels; and said receptacles toterminate adjacent said inner walls; and fastening means extendingthrough said stiles and into said rail ends for securing them inoperative relationship.

4. In a sash for a sliding closure, the combination of: top and bottomrail members having elongated channels therein; stile members havingelongated channels therein and provided at the opposite ends thereofwith openings conforming substantially to the cross-sectionalconfiguration of the ends of said rails to permit said rail ends to belocated in the ends of said stile channels; securement blocks located inthe ends of said top rail, said blocks having track engaging rollersmounted therein; and fastening means extending through said stilesengageable with said blocks for maintaining said top rail and saidstiles in operative relationship.

5. In a sash for a sliding closure, the combination of: top and bottomrails having pane mounting means and elongated channels therein; stilesconnecting said top and bottom rails, said stiles having pane receivingrecesses extending the length thereof; connecting means for said stilesand said rails, said connecting means including securement blocks in theends of said top rail channel having roller means mounted therein andfastening means in said stiles engageable therewith; and adjustable shimmeans in said stiles adjacent the upper and lower ends thereof forengaging the lateral edges of said pane to adjust said sash with respectto said pane.

6. In a sash for a sliding window, the combination of: top and bottomrails having elongated channels therein; mounting block means disposedin the ends of said top rail channels; roller means mounted for rotationon said block means; laterally spaced stiles between said rails; andfastening means engageable with said mounting block means for securingsaid top rail and said stiles together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS746,758 Stiggleman Dec. 15, 1903 1,181,331 Metzger May 2, 1916 1,637,723Axe Aug. 2, 1927 2,057,730 Moderau Oct. 20, 1936 2,144,782 Swanson Jan.24, 1939 2,610,369 Huizenga Sept. 16, 1952 2,637,878 Watkins May 12,1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 212,371 Switzerland Feb. 17, 1941

